Vibration and Judder on Turns Under Acceleration

[Jp1975]

Have any Legacy XT owners experienced this? Apparently this has been a big issue with the Ascents and Outback XTs. We first noticed it back in June when the engine and drivetrain were cold after sitting overnight. If you accelerated while turning the wheel left or right a bad vibration would be felt and heard from the rear of the car. As well as a whirring noise from the steering. This was on my wife’s 2020 Outback Onyx XT. After the engine had warmed it went away. There is a TSB from Subaru about this and we made several trips to the dealer during the summer for this but each time they said the tests prescribed by Subaru for this did not indicate the issue. When they drove the vehicle they said they could detect what we referred to when pulling out of a parking spot but the car quickly warmed up and smoothed out. 

This got progressively worse through the summer and would continue even after the vehicle was warm. In addition the transmission just had a rougher feel to it, definitely  not as smooth as my 2020 Legacy Limited XT. We made a final trip to the dealer over 2 weeks ago and they said the vehicle should not be driven and needs to have the clutch pack assembly replaced. But we were told there are no clutch packs in the US currently and they have no time frame for a resolution. Only that maybe by the end of January. After a week or so she was given a loaner, ironically an identical 2020 Onyx XT but white instead of black. It also has fewer miles which we’ll probably increase considerably if this drags out to the Spring as I fear. 

Our sales lady from whom we bought both vehicles in 2020 said that they would make a trade-in offer for the OB for a new vehicle. The service guys said a few owners had done just that instead of waiting a couple months. My wife isn’t currently interested in going that route. Although I have to say if it were me I’d just want to be rid of it. This has left a bad taste for both of us. This apparently has only affected the turbo vehicles, there’s a big thread over on the Outback forums, as well as the Ascent one. My concern is for my car. Hers will be 3 years old next month, mine will be 3 in July and has half the mileage hers does. Hers is at 29K, mine just under 12K. If I encounter this with my Legacy I will just get rid of it and avoid CVTs if at all possible, and it may be my last Subaru after over 20 years. 

The service writer said he had not seen this issue in any Legacy but I’m still concerned. When we discussed the TSB he said they had a bad problem with the Ascents, but not as many Outbacks and no Legacys. I did ask how long this would take to resolve if they were replacing the whole transmission and he said a couple weeks because Subaru is well stocked with CVTs but not clutch packs. I guess they geared up for the CVT recall. All in all this is very disappointing. 

[hkshooter]

Well, apparently I ran afoul of the rules over on the OB forum and got a hand smacking ban. (They didn't tell me what rule, just "get out until we say so" who knows WTF I did). Anyhow, I cannot reference the thread about this over there but as I recall the noise is in the rear end of the OBXT. My own OB XT did this, hard turn, hard acceleration trying to get going and out of the way. Left turn as I recall. Many over there have complained of the same thing. 

Mine sounded like a loud knock, knock, knock. A bit alarming, very noticeable. I went to an open and empty parking lot and tried to duplicate the noise, hard left from a standing start, and hit the gas. Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough (don't really like feeling like I'm intentionally abusing my car) but it didn't make the noise. Then I drove in tight figure 8's, trying to get it to do something similar. Didn't do it. 

I was advised in the forums to see a dealer about it because "it'll only get worse" but I haven't brought up the issue to the dealer yet. I can see them drag this out for weeks and weeks before admitting there's an issue and then much as above, want me to wait for months until they get a part. Consensus over on the OB forums is it's in the rear diff or the center diff, not in the CVT. Maybe your problem is different but as I said, I cannot access the OB forums for the next week or so to compare notes.

[Jp1975]

I’ve posted over there as well. When we first noticed the problem in June I searched that forum and found an existing thread. Someone there must work at a Subaru dealer and posted the technical service bulletin that Subaru put out to dealers. It describes the exact symptoms we were having. Vibration and juddering when accelerating through a turn. It felt and sounded like we were driving over a rumble strip in back. Initially it would only do it when engine and drivetrain were cool. As soon as the vehicle warmed up a little it disappeared. But that progressed to doing it even when warm. 
 

The technical service bulletin specifies the clutch pack assembly which is what the service guys said is the problem. But there are none available in the US currently. So far I’ve not seen any Legacy owners post about this. So I wanted to check here to see if anyone had experienced it. My Limited XT has been perfect so I’m hoping to avoid the problem. 

[dohturdima]

I haven't noticed any issue such as this in my car but will test it out and report back. 

[Jp1975]

1 hour ago, dohturdima said:

I haven't noticed any issue such as this in my car but will test it out and report back. 

I was told that they have not seen any Legacys with this issue. But the official Subaru Techinical Service bulletin mentions 2020-2022 Legacy, Outback, and Ascent XTs. The Ascents have a multitude of issues including this one, and apparently the Outback XTs as well. Fingers crossed that the Legacy XTs escape this. 

[That_Blubaru1998]

I have a 2020 Legacy XT and have this issue. I also heard through the dealer that they do not see legacy's with this issue. My car has 55k miles on it and I am trying to get this issue resolved before I have to pay out of pocket for it. 

[Jp1975]

36 minutes ago, That_Blubaru1998 said:

I have a 2020 Legacy XT and have this issue. I also heard through the dealer that they do not see legacy's with this issue. My car has 55k miles on it and I am trying to get this issue resolved before I have to pay out of pocket for it. 

The test they do to confirm the issue - related to the transmission - is to disable the AWD essentially turning it into a front wheel drive vehicle. If the issue disappears at that point it would be confirmed to be a transmission problem, which is about a $12,000 repair. If they won’t proceed to this extent you’d be better off trading the vehicle if financially feasible. I have not seen this reported by other Legacy owners and my dealer also said they had not seen any Legacys with this issue. My 2020 XT Legacy has less than 15K mi but no issues so far.